Metal-surfaced material



R. E. BRAKE TAL SURFACE!) IM'BXIL med Aug. 1s, 1925 Aug. 7, 1928.

Patented Aug. 7, 1928. 1,680,096l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Application led August 15, 1925. Serial No. 50,420.

This invention relates to a new sheet material and a method by which it is produced, this material being especially suitable for uilding purposes, as, for instance, for roofappearance of a slate-surfaced material coving. More specifically, the new material conered with metal, but no granular substance sists of a non-metallic base saturated with a is employed and thus the cost of the product Waterproo g compound and having a meits Weight retallic surfacing on that face which is to be duced so that transportation and exposed to the weather. charges are diminished.

he new process may best be carried out on a rooting machine of the ordinary form. The web of base material is first saturated and coated with the waterproofing compound 1n the usual manner, and then receives a thin coating of electroconductive material dis tributednover the surface of the waterproofing coating While the latter is still warm and ky. Thereafter the base so coated is subjected to an embossing operation to give the surface any desired ing applied in such a way as to conform to a patterned surface previously produced on the product may have the general as asphalt. 'lhe surface of this base is usually protected by a layer of good-wearing material, of which crushed slate is an eX- ample. Recently a roofing has been developed, consisting of such a base over which a protective layer of metal is applied, as, for instance, by electrodeposition. This metal is preferably non-corrodible, and when copper is used for the purpose a highly satisfactory th product results, not only on account of the superior wearing qualities, but also due to the pleasing appearance of the copper.

lVhen the metal is applied over a flat surface, however, ditliculties may result, owing to the difference in the rate of expansion of the base and the metal protective sheathing. Also, a Hat metallic surface is tive as one which showing the process, and the prod duced by it. In these drawin 1g. l is a View in side elevation, largely not so attracdlagrammatic, of the apparatus used in caris slightly rough and has rying out the process, a texture. To improve the quality of the ig. 2 is a face View of a multiple unit product it has been suggested that the metal shingle strip produced by the new process, be applied over the rough surface of a layer F lgs. 3 through 6 inclusive are views in of granular material embedded in the base sectlon and on an enlarged scale, of portions coating. Such a product is satisfactory in of the base web showing the latter at difappearance and also in service, but its construction necessitates the use of the granular material previously used to provide a good wearing surface, but in the new product entirely concealed from View under the metal.

e present invention is intended to provide a product which is suitable for general building purposes, and particularly for roofing, and which includes a metallic protective sheathin which may be given various patterns. T is sheathing may be produced with a rouhened surface effect similar to that obuct proproduct,

Fig. 7 is a view in section on an enlarged scale, of a slightly modified form of the product.

Referring now to these drawin ess as illustrated diagrammatical y in Flg. 1, is carried out on a roofing machine of the ordinary type. The web 10 of base material which is usually a wool felt, is drawn from a supply and passed through saturating the proctaine when metal is deposited over a granusaturant which 1s usually asphalt of suitlar surface, but the use of a granular coatable meltlng point the web belng led through ing la er over the base is dispensed with. the tan sin a tortuous path so as to take up Accor ing to the process by which the new and become saturated by the asphalt From material is made, any desired surface effect the tanks the web passes through coati may be produced on the met-al, the metal berolls 11, by which a coating 12 of asphalt having a melting point such that it will withstand solar heat, is applied to one face of the base.

From the coating rolls 11 the web passes beneath a distributing hopper 13 of any desired construction, arrange to distribute a thin layer of an electroconductive material over the surface of the base. This hopper is placed at a point such that the coating layer is still warmv and tacky as it passes beneath the discharge opening of the hopper, and the electroconductive material discharged from the hopper over the coating is bound firmly to the base by the latter. The electroconductive material employed may be any of the usual metalizers used in electroplating nonmetallic articles. Such material may consist of graphite, finely divided metal or numerous other similar products. ine graphite is referable on account of its lubricating qualities, as will presently become apparent.

Passing from beneath the distributing hopper 13, the web moves between a pair of rolls 14 and 15, the upper roll 14 having an irregular surface constituting the pattern to be produced in the coating. As here illustrated, the upper roll has many small projections and depressions formed in its surface, and as the web passes beneath it the coating layer 12 and the layer of metallizer 16 are both pressed so as to have an irregular contour, as illustrated at 17 in Fig. 5. This contour will, of course, depend on the surface of the roll 14, and theroll may be given any desired design. The embossing rolls 14 and 15 are placed in such relation to the distributing hopper 13 that the coating layer will have taken its initial set when subjected to the embossing operation. Thus the irregularities produced in the coating by the action of the rolls will be unchanged as the web proceeds through the machine. The use of graphite as a metallizer is highly satisfactory, because its lubricating quality assists the action of the upper embossing roll in making a clean impression, whereas metallic powders or crushed carbon particles would have a slightly abrasive action on the surface of the embossing rolls and eventually cause the irregularities over its surface to be worn away.

Beyond the embossing rolls 14 and 15, the web 10 passes around cooling drums 18 of the usual construction, these drums being of large diameter so that the stock does not make abrupt bends. As the coating layer has reached its initial set prior to the action of the embossing rolls, the movement of the stock around the cooling drums has little tendency to flatten out the irregular contour iven the coating laye-r.

Passing beyond the cooling drums, the stock is cut into single or multiple unit strips of the usual form by knives or rotating other similar devices. These individual elean .electroconductive are then mounted in an electrolytic ments coated with layer,

cell, if desired, and a plating of metal may be deposited over the conductive material so as to build up a protective sheathing of any desired thickness. Copper is most satisfactory for the purpose, not only on account of the ease with which it may be deposited, but also because of its satisfactory wearing qualities and good appearance on the roof.

liv using iinelv divided metal particles in the hopper 13, a metallic layer 19 mav be piotniced which makes a material suitable for many purposes without further deposition. The action of the embossing rol s causes the particles in the layer to be firmly bound to the base and a surface of any desired configuration may thus be produced.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a multiple unit shingle produced in accordance with the present invention and having the protective metallic sheathing 2O applied over only those areas of the base which are exposed when the shingles are laid in overlapping courses in the usual manner. The base of each shingle has cut-outs formed in its forward part so as to define individual tabs, each of which corresponds in appearance to a single shingle. This forward part of the shingle is covered by a body of metal 24 from which tongues 23 extend to the rear, these tongues covering with suitable overlap that portion of the base which would be exposed through the cut-outs of the overlying element. The formation of the tongues may be effected either by the use of suitable apparatus by which the metallizing powder is distributed over the base only throughout those areas D or else the conducting coating may cover the entire surface of the base and then, during the plating operation, such parts as are not to receive a plating may be masked or shielded by the use of suitable holders.

As shown in Fig. 6, the finished p-roduct consists of a suitable non-metallic base impregnated with a waterproofing material and coated with a layer of this material, this coating being given any desired pattern on its surface. .as nere shown. the surface is covered with smaii projections and depressions which correspond in general to the irregular surface of a slate-surfaced roofing. The layer of conduct-ing material conforms to all the irregularities of the base, having been applied before the irregular contour is imparted to the base. The layer of metal 9.0 closely conforms to the irregular surface and is of substantially uniform thickness throughout, owing to the manner in which it is produced With such a construction, the metal is firmly bound to the base and expansion difficulties are to a large extent obviated because different parts of the metallic coating expand in different directions, so that separation of base and metal is substantially prevented. Also, the metal layer has a more attractive appearance than that of a flat metal sheet, because it has a certain texture which is greatly enhanced after the metal has been exposed and become some- While the new product may be made with any desired pattern applied to the surface of the waterproof coating, it is particularly desirable when the coa-ting is roughened, because it closely simulates the appearance of slate-surfaced metal-clad material, but is much less expensive to produce and also has less weight, so that transportation charges are greatly reduced.

For many purposes the product as shown in Fig. 7 is entirely satisfactory. This product 1s similar to that shown in Fig. 6, but l the electroconductive material employed consists of a metallic powder, and this is distributed evenly over the surface of the coating, which is later embossed. Also, the ayer of metal built up by electrodeposition is now dispensed with. This type of material is cheaper than the one which include: the plated layer of metal, and although it is less durable, it is much more attract-ive in appearance than the slate-surfaced product. It is particularly adapted for use in interior building construction.

The product described herein having the layer of metal deposited on it electrolytically, may be produced by following various different and alternative procedures. For example, the asphalt-coated sheet material covered with t-he conductive material may be subjected to the electrolytio deposition rocess before any embossing takes place. uch embossing, augmented with heat to aid in strengthening the bond between the metal layer and the base, may Well be done after the metal layer of the desired thickness has been deposited.

I claim:

1. A sheet material comprising a substantially smooth non-metallic base coated with a layer of asphalt of substantial thickness, said layer having an embossed surface, a layer of electro-conductive material over the embossed surface of the asphalt, and a layer of metal over the electro-conductive layer and conforming to the irregularities of the embossing.

2. The method of making a sheet material which comprises applying electro-conductive material to the surface of a non-metallic base to form a coating thereon, embossing the coated surface, and electrodepositing a layer of metal over the conductive material in such manner that the metal conforms to the irregularities of the embossing.

3. The method of making a sheet material which comprises applying substance to a non-metallic which of substantial thickness on the base, ing a finely divided electro-conductive material over the layer while the compound is still warm and tacky, embossing the layer after the coat-ing has taken its initial set, and electrodepositing a metallic layer over the conducting material.

5. The method of making roofing elements W ic comprises saturating a felted sheet with asphalt, applying a layer of asphalt to form a coating on one face of the sheet, applying a thin layer of graphite over the surface of the asphalt coatingr While the latter is still tacky, embossing the coated surface to produce a design in it and to cause the graphite to adhere firmly to the layer, and electrodepositing a layer of copper over the graphite.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature.

RALPH E. DRAKE. 

